Three more bodies recovered from Yamuna after idol immersion

New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) Three more bodies were recovered from the Yamuna river Friday, a day after one person drowned and 13 people went missing while immersing idols of goddess Durga in Wazirpur and Timarpur areas of north Delhi, the police said.The bodies of Mandeep, 13, Sandeep, 25, and Ajay Kumar, 22, were fished out in the evening by personnel f Delhi Police and Delhi Fire Service from Timarpur.

While Mandeep hailed from Paharganj, Ajay was from Patel Nagar and Sandeep was a resident of Nangloi. They had all gone to participate in the idol immersion at the Yamuna, Delhi Fire Service officials said.

On Thursday, the city police fished out the body of 22-year-old Jitender from Wazirpur area, where eight others also were feared drowned.

All those who are now missing were from the same locality in Anand Parbat area in west Delhi and they had gone for idol immersion on a boat that reportedly capsized due to overloading, an official said.

“We are still searching for them. We will also check the Okhla barrage if required,” the police official added.

The families of the eight missing are distraught and praying for the safety of their kin.

“I don’t know where my husband has disappeared. He has not returned since the mishap. Everyone says he has drowned, but I am hopeful he will come back safe,” said Pinki, who was married to Kanhaiya six months ago.

The families of others missing have also been camping on the river banks, hoping that their relatives would somehow be found by rescue teams.

Witnesses said Thursday that devotees had turned up in thousands on the banks of the river and because of the excessive crowd, a minor stampede broke out in the areas in and around Timarpur, Burari and Saraswati Vihar and several people were pushed into deeper waters of the river.